The Eastern Cape Executive Council (EXCO) has considered and approved the request for interim budget relief of R90 370million to enable the Department of Transport to provide scholar transport services to learners for the current academic year, including the payment of accruals amounting to just over R11 million.
According to government spokesperson, Khuselwa Rantjie, the additional budget brings to over R1 billion the provincial government’s investment on this programme which is aimed at improving access to education for thousands of learners mainly in rural poor communities.
She added that the Executive Council noted the challenges arising from the Scholar Transport Programme, due in the main to the budgetary constraints which have led to the disruption of the service in various parts of the Eastern Cape.
“Additionally, the EXCO provisionally approved the extension of the service from 90 917 to 103 000 learners. It is envisaged that the additional budget will require reprioritisation across the provincial administration.
The approved budget will ensure that the programme remains operational and adequately funded, enabling continued access to education for thousands of learners depending on this service,” said Rantjie.
She said that it further directed the Departments of Transport and Education, working together with the Provincial Programmes Support Unit (PPSU), to identify sustainable funding models and conduct a cost-benefit analysis of placing learners that travel more than 40km daily in hostels.
According to Rantjie, further to this, EXCO noted and approved the use of a new software application which will form part of the monitoring of the service going forward. The electronic Learner Transport Management Support (LTMS) is part of streamlining and modernising the scholar transport business processes, as well as to address previously identified control deficiencies.
“The app will record data collected at each pick-up point, on the routes allocated, allowing the journey to be tracked and the relevant information stored, assisting ultimately with proof of delivery and accurate payment of the drivers. Government continues to unlock the bottlenecks around this crucial task, of ensuring that every deserving child in the Eastern Cape has access to the scholar transport service and that their schooling programme is not disrupted.”
